Intro to Backyard Chickens

If you have a garden space where you would like to incorporate manure from your own chickens, saving on fossil fuel consumption, off-farm fertilizers, and inputs. While receiving a massive helping hand in weed and pest control, and adding biodiversity to your farm or garden space. Or if you are concerned where the pre-packaged meat wrapped in plastic and pink styrofoam containers is coming from and how it's "raised", and would like raise and process your own food insuring them the best life possible. Or if you just love the rich taste of fresh eggs. Then raising a few chickens may be for you. Not to mention the escape they offer from a stressful job and city life, the entertainment they'll bring to your backyard, and a healthy dose of animal companionship will make it all worth it. Raising your own flock is a simple way to begin raising livestock. They are easy to raise and relatively cheap to buy, feed, and house. Especially if you start out with a small number of laying hens for a backyard flock.

Chickens are really an interesting bird; here are a few facts:
Folks have been raising chickens for at least 5,000 years. Charles Darwin traced chickens back tens of thousands of years to the wild red jungle fowl. This breed (Gallus Gallus) is native to Southeast Asia but is now extinct. They are much like the Brown Leghorns of today and were homebodies that liked to live and forage in one place as long as possible. In 1868 Darwin took an inventory of the worlds chicken population finding only 13 breeds. Today we have many times that number and most were developed in the 20th century. There are three basic types of chickens. Layers (for eggs), broilers (for meat), and dual purpose (for eggs and meat). There are some really amazing rare breeds that make superb dual purpose birds. One example is the Buckeye.

Chickens need housing to protect them from winds and harsh weather. 8 by 12 ft. is plenty for 30 regular sized chickens. An old tool shed, a barn corner, or other out-structure could be perfect. If these don't already exist, one can easily be put together with scrap wood or pallets. I think one of the best ideas is to build a mobile "chicken tractor" if you have, or can easily find, the resources. construction sites and grocery stores are a good place to find them. There are many examples of these types of coops online, youtube etc. Try to position your coop on a slope or hill for good drainage. Careful to insulate and heat structure for your chickens in the harsh winter if you are in a cold climate, so their combs don't freeze. In most situations in the Southeast a light or two may be all you need. They will also need a perch (an old ladder will work), nesting boxes (one nest per four hens), and litter for the coop floor. Use sawdust, shredded paper, wood shavings, wood chips, rice hulls, peanut hulls, chopped straw, soft hay, ground up corncobs, and any other soft, or other absorbent materials. Place 4 inches of litter beneath the nests and coop floor. And keep the coop very clean of any eggs, especially broken ones. Once a chicken gets a taste of fress eggs they will begin to peck open and devour their own.

Choosing the right breed is important. Do you primarily want eggs, or do you want to raise your own meat? Do you want to help preserve an endangered breed? Or do you simply want the pleasure of seeing chickens in your backyard as pets, having fun doing what they do best...eat bugs and greens, and scratch.

The American Standard of Protection contains descriptions and pictures of many breeds and varities. Another extremely helpful organization to get to know is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy http://www.albc-usa.org/. They have done amazing work restoring populations of rare heritage breeds on the edge of extinction.

Having already talked a little about housing, the next thing chickens will need is good fencing. At least four feet high using chicken wire or poultry netting. A strip of electric wire at the very top and on the bottom outside is a good idea for keeping out predators. Trench it tight at the bottom so chickens can't escape. An easily moveable system is something to keep in mind. Chickens need to be periodically re-introduced to fresh pastures. and love being turned loose in a spent garden.

Feed the chickens forage, garden remnants, grade b produce. And each chicken will eat a two pound ration of feed per day. Use feeder troughs or hanging tube feeders. Protein supplementation is a must. Feed them cooked crawfish shells (not crayfish) for extra calcium and carrots, both also for a deep orange, rich yolk. That's my top secret tip of the day.

Husbandry Guidelines:
Keep your coops littered and dry. Keep the yard around the coop dry and free from standing water and puddles. This is a breeding ground for unwelcome pest, parasites, and disease. Again keep eggs collected and clean from the coop floor. Make sure water is clean and filled daily. Look for signs of illness, lice, and mites. Check fecal matter periodically for worms. Pay attention to their behavior. Eyes should be clear, and open...Legs should be clean and healthy, no or very little discoloration.

Market Products:
Select breeds for broilers or eggs (or dual purpose breeds for both) know them and what products you expect from them. Do you want to sell eggs and meat at your local Farmers' Market? Or do you just want to feed your family and friends? There are processing methods to consider. Like, will you do this yourself, at home? (Which is legal to do for under 100 birds in NC.) What kind of materials and set-up will you need to do this?

Services Chickens Offer:
Weed management, pest management, free fertilizer, great companions, and much more.

More to come...
All my best!



Interesting chicken facts and other info taken from Barnyard in Your Backyard.